Pros
Short, fairly flexible shifts. 15% staff discount. Staff help each other out. Progression is quite easy.
Cons
Once you’re promoted to either supervisor or assistant manager, even branch manager... you lose any flexibility and your home life becomes secondary. You’re expected to be in work at 5am having finished work at 9pm the night before, to put a 12 pallet delivery out with 3 members of staff, one of whom is constantly on the tills. The tills have no seats and are uncomfortably low down which gives you back ache every day if you’re any taller than 5’3. Managers don’t give you your paid breaks, and expect you to stay behind unpaid if necessary. Customers can be aggressive and there is no security. We are expected to stop shop lifters with no back up - 3 of my colleagues were assaulted by shop lifters in the 2 years I was there. Mandatory stocktakes on a Saturday night once a month where you’re bent over the freezers counting all stock till 11pm some nights. No overtime, bank holiday or Sunday pay us the same as a regular shift and there’s such a high turn over of staff you never know when you’re going to get a cal at 5am asking you to come in. I worked there for 2 years and was eventually promoted to assistant manager after being retail assistant/supervisor and the only good thing about the place is the other retail staff.